24 Hours in Passau

A few weekends ago, Fabian and I volunteered to pick up his grandparents from their 5-week long vacation at a mineral spa in southeastern Bavaria. His parents suggested we make a small trip out of it, and spend the day exploring Passau - the city of 3 rivers. So we booked our train tickets, found a cheap hotel room, and left Kleinbottwar at 6 a.m. that Saturday.

Our first matter of business upon arrival was finding some warm food and cold beer. We stopped by the visitor's center for a city map and discovered that the "Baroque Festival" was going on in town, and on our way to the restaurant, we saw marching bands, jokers on stilts, and women in HUGE gowns and wigs, fanning themselves as they watched the medieval-style musicians on the street corners.

We sat inside at the restaurant because it was overcast and a little chilly, and ate Spätzle with cheese. We tasted the local beer from Innstadt Brewery - in operation since 1318. (Enlarge the photo and you read the date above the logo on the glass!)

We spent the day perusing the stands with wood carvings, medieval costumes, jewelry, silver, and "coffee from Arabia", which was the hot new thing during the Baroque period. We tasted some beer made out of honey wine - not my favorite drink, but it fit with the atmosphere. At night, we saw fire dancers! They swung flaming nun chucks in circles around their bodies.

 

 



After the fire dancers finished, we rushed to the bank of the Inn and watched a firework show over the water, set to classical music.

 

 

Passau is about as Catholic as you can get. Fabi described that region of Bavaria as the "catholic heartland of Germany." So of course, attending Mass was on our to-do list. We woke up early that Sunday, ate breakfast next to some Canadians in our hotel, and hopped a bus back into downtown for services at the Dom (the cathedral). You can see its three green onion domes in the background here. 

After Mass we sat at a little cafe on the river and ate crepes, then read books until it was time to catch our bus to pick up his grandparents. We were able to see a lot of the city in just 24 hours, and Opa and Oma Renate even paid us back for our hotel expenses! It was a great little getaway, and officially signaled the end of summer for us.

And lest ye think my life here is all vacation, remember: I am still giving English tutoring during the week, living off my savings, and taking care of almost all the housework while Fabian is at work. I therefore cannot wait for my employment to begin! But in the meantime, why not enjoy?